US investigates report of drone spotted in NYC

New York: The FBI and the US Federal Aviation Administration are investigating a pilot`s report that he spotted a small unmanned aircraft near a major New York City airport.

The Alitalia pilot told controllers that he saw the drone as he approached the runway at John F Kennedy International Airport yesterday. The pilot said the aircraft was about 8 kilometres southeast of the airport and was flying at an altitude of about 457 meters.

The pilot reported that the aircraft was about 1 meter long, an FBI spokesman said on Tuesday.

The pilot can be heard on radio calls captured by LiveATC.Net, a website that posts air traffic communications, saying, "We saw a drone, a drone aircraft."

The FAA said the pilot did not take evasive action and the plane landed safely.

Some remote-controlled planes flown by hobbyists are longer than 1 meter. Under FAA rules, model planes are restricted to altitudes of 121 meters or less.